Searching for Occupational Therapist Schools near Shafter, CA? Let us help you locate the best OTA program for you!

As youbegin your search for Occupational therapy Assistant schools in Shafter, CA, you will probablysoonrealize that there has never been a better time for you togo after a career as an OTA. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statisticspredicts jobs in thisindustry to increase by 43% over the ten year period 2010-2020, this equals over 12,000 new Occupational Therapy Assistant jobs! The even better news is the fact that the averageOccupational Therapy Assistant earningsis greater than $53,000 yearlywhich makes itamongst the highest paying healthcareprofessions that does not call for a Four Year Degree.

Occupational Therapy Schools in Shafter, CA

The initial steptowards a career as an OTA is choosing the rightOccupational Therapy Program. There are at this timealmost200 accredited occupational therapy schools in the United States and Puerto Rico and almost all of the schools accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) offer Occupational Therapist Assistant degrees and Master’s Degrees, with many also offering Doctoral degrees. Before you decide todive in todecide on a school, you might want toconsider all of your optionsto makecertainyou locate an Occupational Therapy school that fits all your requirements.

Items YouMust ConsiderWhen Choosing an Occupational Therapy School

Accreditation

Accreditation by the ACOTE is important because you will becertainthat you willlearn about the full range oftechniquesnecessary to bea competent OTA.

Curriculum

Occupational Therapy Assistants work with patients on numerous types ofhealth concerns and disorders making itessential that your schooling is very wide-ranginginstead of too concentrated onone particulararea of specialization.

Clinical Training

Another importantvariableyou should look at is the clinical teaching experience. This is thepractical training, itis whereyou are going to interact with real patients and put your skills to use. Some schools designatesubstantially more time on your actual clinicaltraining compared toothers. In cases where your training program is not devotinglarge amounts of time with clinical training, be sure that youask why.

Class Size

Another thing to look into is the class size. The size of will vary considerably from college to college. Make sure that you find out the class sizes at the schools you are looking at. Keep in mind, the smaller the class size , the more one-on-one teachingyou will get with thetrainers.

Online Courses

Taking Occupational Therapy Classes Online may not work for every student. However, for some people online training can alleviatemany of the burdens of being a full time student. Work and familyare frequentlydriven aside as students undertake their education and online classes providesome flexibility to a busy life.

Graduation Rate

The lastfactorthat you shouldlook atbefore selecting an Occupational Therapy School is the rate of the collegesyou are evaluating. Make certain you find out how many traineesfinish the program, what their evaluations were, and how many of them have gone on tobecome Occupational Therapists.

Programs:

Building on Purdue's mission to provide greater access to affordable, world-class education, Purdue University Globaldelivers a fully personalized online experience that's tailored to working adults. By opening the doors to adults who need flexibility to fit learning into their busy lives, we make it possible to achieve a high-quality education from a prestigious university system—completely online.

Programs:

Back to School Scholarship Available to All New Students Until October 22nd.

Since 1996, Southern California Health Institute has been dedicated and committed to helping students achieve their dreams by providing an exceptional education that enables them to become skilled and successful manual therapists. We have graduated over 1,500 students who are now a part of a larger community of wellness and healthcare.

Programs:

Northcentral University was founded in 1996 to provide working professionals around the world with unprecedented access to richly engaging, professionally relevant, and academically-rigorous education from a U.S. university.

As a regionally accredited, private, online and graduate-focused university, NCU offers doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degrees in business, technology management, education, and psychology, as well as doctoral and master’s degrees in marriage and family therapy.

Programs:

Health Psychology - PhD of Psychology

Health Psychology - MA in Psychology

Master of Science in Health Psychology

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What to Expect in OTA School

In most cases the course work is roughly2 years, with the first year consisting of predominantlyclass-roomteaching and with the second year spent carrying out hands on instruction in a medical center or private carepractice. Some of the course work a student will have to take includes pediatrics, gerontology, healthcarejargon, and physical rehabilitation. All States that require licensure simply call fora two year degree. A Bachelor’s Degree isnecessaryif you plan on becoming a full Occupational Therapist, but you will find that a majority of Occupational Therapist launched their careers as Assistants and earned their Bachelor’s Degrees a few years later.

Licensing Information and Facts

Following graduation, those wanting toget started with their careers will need to become certified as an occupational therapist assistant. Each State has its own policies and specificationsthat will be governed by an occupational therapy board, with many being private and several run by the State exclusively. In California, licensing is controlled by the California Board of Occupational Therapy. Even thoughevery State is unique, there are a number of requirements which are common among the majority of them and include the following.

Someoneapplying for an occupational therapy assistant certificatemust be a U.S. citizen, must have a social security number and is required to have taken and passedappropriate college course work as well as taken and passed the NBCOT exam.

Every State requires a federal background check , but convictions are not alwaysautomatic grounds for dismissal. Certain States may consider approving an occupational therapist license if a written affidavit is turned in to describe the circumstances of the conviction. Additional factors including time and nature of the offense may be examined and be considered to approve licensure .

Each State will provide an Occupational Therapy Assistant licensing kitthat is going toinclude many forms to complete. Neverpurchase these forms from a third party since they can be accessed online from many reputableweb sites. It is recommended to take a very detailed look through the paper work before attempting to complete them. You might have official transcripts needed; notarized signatures and many States will want you to turn in a fingerprint card which can be completed at a local police station.

Work Environment for Occupational Therapy Assistants

An OTA will work with an assortment of patients who have needs that could bevery differentin comparison to the previous patient. You could beworking for an outpatient clinic with childrenwho may have food or texture aversions or maybe a hospital rehabilitation center working with a middle age patient with emotional struggles . Even though an occupational therapy assistant hasa variety of job skills, a few of the basics like following direction, keeping up to date with the most up to date techniques and implementing and using the available technologyare extremely important. Finally, a COTA should be relatively physically fit, sinceyou will have several instances of moving patients around, for example from a bed to a wheel chair.

If this sounds like a career your interested in, then take a few minutes and fill out the search form at the top of this page. You will be shown a list of training programs near Shafter, CA that offer Occupational Therapy Assistant classes. Request information from as many schools as you’d like, and good luck in your future career!

Occupational Therapy Schools in Shafter, CA reviewed by Evan PARKER on June 9.

Terrific Source of Info

Thank You for creating such an informative website. I was able to find great info about the various schools in my area and chose one that worked for me. I’m now ready to start my classes and can’t wait to work as an Occupational Therapist.